Data Transfer Object
A Data Transfer Object (DTO) is a design pattern used to transfer data between software application subsystems, such as between a client and server or between layers in a layered architecture. It encapsulates data into a simple object without any business logic, typically containing only fields, getters, and setters, to reduce the number of method calls and improve performance in distributed systems.
Developers should use DTOs when building applications with layered architectures, such as in microservices or client-server models, to decouple internal domain models from external interfaces and optimize data transfer over networks. They are particularly useful in scenarios like API development, where you need to expose a subset of data from a complex domain object or aggregate data from multiple sources into a single response payload.